The organizers estimated that 500,000 people took part in the Jerusalem protest.

The new draft law has been a point of contention in Israel, particularly because of the approval of criminal sanctions against hareidim who evade army service.

Hareidi leaders have expressed strong opposition to criminal sanctions for yeshiva students, and pro-enlistment leaders have warned that strong sanctions could create a backlash that would mean fewer hareidi men in the army, not more.

At least one Hassidic sect has threatened to flee Israel en masse if the draft law is ratified, and a boycott has even been threatened against Judea and Samaria in "retaliation" against the Religious Zionist community for the measure.